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I’m proud to announce that the Manual I designed for the World Health Organization has been awarded by the BMA Medical Book Awards 2015 as “Highly Commended” for Public health.

Birth Defects Surveillance.
A Manual for
Programme Managers

World Health Organization, Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention and International
Clearinghouse of Birth Defects Surveillance and
Research – World Health Organization, August
2014 ISBN: 9789241548724 CHF 25
Programme managers

This manual is intended to serve as a tool for
the development, implementation and ongoing
improvement of a congenital anomalies
surveillance programme, particularly for countries
with limited resources. The focus of the manual
is on population-based and hospital-based
surveillance programmes. Some countries may
not find it feasible to begin with the development
of a population-based programme. The manual
focuses on the methodology needed for the
development of both population-based and hospital
based surveillance programmes. Further, although
many births in predominantly low- and middleincome
countries occur outside of hospitals, some
countries with limited resources may choose to
start with a hospital-based surveillance programme
and expand it later into one that is population
based. Any country wishing to expand its current
hospital-based programme into a population-based
programme, or to begin the initial development
of a population-based registry, should find this
manual helpful in reaching its goal. This manual is
a collaborative effort between the World Health
Organization (WHO), the National Center on Birth
Defects and Developmental Disabilities from the
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) and the International Clearinghouse for Birth
Defects Surveillance and Research (ICBDSR).

“This book has a clear objective of being a manual
for specific purpose, fulfils this objective by a
combination of clear layout and methodical
approach first to principles behind a programme
and then to categorisation of defects. The clear
unambiguous text is complemented by excellent
use of colour figures and illustrations. I thought this
was an excellent manual. It has been kept concise
enough to function as a useful manual for a novice
programme manager, but is still comprehensive
in covering both theoretical and practical aspects
of setting up a programme. Its style throughout
is fluent but easy to read, with clear definitions
both of principles and of specific conditions. The
figures and illustrations are used well throughout to
complement the text.”